B3 Palace of the Silver Princess

[GRWelsh]

This is one of the first modules I ever bought. In the spring of 1981 I played D&D for the first time when a kid at school DMed B1 In Search of the Unknown for us. In the summer of 1981 I got the Moldvay D&D Basic set for my birthday, and started DMing B2 right away, and using that as the basis to draw and key my own dungeons. Soon after that I bought B3 Palace of the Silver Princess (1981) by Tom Moldvay and Jean Wells. It was the green cover version and had I no inkling of the original orange covered version until many years later. My understanding is that original was written by Jean Wells and the project was taken away from her and the published version was edited heavily enough by Tom Moldvay to justify a co-writer credit. This module has a lot of nostalgic value because of the time period when I got it, and the artwork, and the attempt to create something like a fairy tale epic. Just reading the module was enjoyable because I could imagine the ending playing out very cinematically. When I actually DMed it, however, it was one of the first TSR disappointments I had because it is railroady, the dungeon maps are a mess, the encounters often feel random and illogical, and the story is muddy... Also, why would heroic characters trying to save the Princess loot her palace? I remember running into a lot of problems when I DMed the module which had to be in 1981-1982, when I was 13 years old. From what I recall, the players started to treat it like a regular dungeon in which they killed monsters and took their treasure, and had trouble understanding what they were supposed to do. I haven't DMed it since, but I've often thought about running it again with revisions or using it for inspiration for my own adventure, set in the Crystalmist Mountains or the Barrier Peaks. The ancient evil being behind it all is somewhat Lovecraftian, which is a plus... It reminded me of the Elder Elemental God moreso than a typical evil deity or Dark Lord. I do like the fairy tale epic feel of the module, and the valley of Haven, but the problem is with the execution and it wasn't a good fit for the mentality of "the reason we're adventuring is to find treasure and magic items."

[Scott]

I had the same problems when I tried running it around the same time. I’ve wondered if it would go better now with a party that wasn’t made up of neophyte 7th graders. With the right mindset the randomness can be charming and an element that emphasizes the module’s origins. I think it really depends on the players. If you have players who can be more lighthearted and able to go with it, it could be very fun. Players that will pounce on every illogical feature they run across would make it a drag.

[GRWelsh]

The first dungeon level feels a lot like a generic dungeon. It's too big to finish in one session, and a party would have to leave and come back a few times, which disrupts the sense of urgency for a story. The second level feels much more like a palace. So, one possibility is to do away with or shorten the first level and just have the party get to the second level quickly. The monsters on the second level are a bit much for 1st level characters with a living iron statue, 3 bugbears, an ogre, a decapus (4 HD monster that gets 9 attacks for 1-6 each), a werewolf and a wight as keyed encounters, and a medusa, harpies and ghouls as possible random encounters. By contrast, the encounter with the big bad -- Catharandamus the cleric -- is way too easy! He is encountered alone, and calls for help, but doesn't get it for 2 rounds. This allows the party 2-3 rounds to gang up on him. I'd change this to put his bodyguards in the room with him when he is encountered, with him saying something like "Hold them off! I only need a few moments more to complete the ritual!" I do like how most of the palace denizens were turned to stone, and I like the throne room encounter with the illusory guards in red plate mail that only get dispelled once touched, and how player characters 'killed' by them afterwards realize all damage from this fight was imaginary... That could create some tension if the players are thinking it is a near total party kill, but really it wasn't. I've always liked encounters where things seem worse than they are. A revised version might be a good adventure for a party of 3rd-4th level characters.

[geneweigel]

That was another adventure that I had played as a player multiple times in different situations. The first time 1981 was a halfplayed blur with relatives, 2nd time was a 1983 play it until it is done approach that was legitimately played completely and 3rd was the evil campaign of the mid-80s to see how it would be handled with expert players.

[geneweigel]

Another memory popped into my head. That module was owned by a lot of people and maybe because it was in the clearance as the last of the triple module packs available around 1984 or so.

[grodog]

It's worth digging up the B3 original orange version to see if you like it better---it was built like B1, where you place the encounters in the key, and should still be available via the old Wizards page and the Internet Archive at web.archive.org/web/20110629070516/http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/silverprincess.zip

Allan.

[GRWelsh]

I do have a PDF of the orange cover (original) version of the module, but have not done an in-depth comparison yet. At a glance, I notice the original version had the events of the palace set in the distant past rather than the present. This fits in better with the mentality of D&D with "explore an old place, kill monsters, take treasure." Also, the illustration with a hostile looking princess knight is better explained by the encounter with their ghosts. I always thought the purpose of that illustration was to throw players off with a red herring (as in "Did the Princess turn evil? Who knows?"). Also, the illustration of the dragon with two horns is a better fit for a red than a white. It is fascinating how many of the illustrations were kept but altered for the revised, green cover version of the module... evil dwarves and a werebear were altered to be orcs and a werewolf, for example, I assume to be more in line with alignments as given in the rules. I assume the red dragon (chaotic) was changed to white (neutral) to allow for a dragon more compatible with the concept of a good (lawful) order of knights. I also liked the region map as I always wondered about the geography. The original version of the module is a lot quirkier and distinctive and so worth considering.